Monday, December 8, 2014

Rumchata, A Winter Treat

This week's recipe is inspired by the lack of creamy warm winter drinks in my life. When you can't drink milk or cream, I promise you that your holiday drink options will dwindle. But they don't need to! every time i start feeling sorry for my lactose intolerant self, I say "knock it off, and buy a can of coconut cream!" Coconut cream is like hope in a can, it can solve most problems for me.

So I start by making horchata, which is a nut soaking process. I have made a few things with this kind of process, so I am no longer intimidated by it, but early this year, I would have been a little nervous. Here's my advice, just do it! Pull the trigger, buy a nut milk bag (because you can reuse it so much easier than cheesecloth!) get a set of white plastic lids for mason jars (perfect soaking containers) and pick a recipe you want to try. Better yet- try this recipe!

Then for the rumchata:
horchata made from the recipe above
1 can full fat coconut cream
1 cup rum (I used white rum, but spiced rum would be yummy as well!)

You want to start by grinding the rice and cinnamon. You can use whatever you have for this, a blender, a food processor, a spice grinder, you could probably grind it with a mortar and pestle if you so pleased! I used my food processor, I put the stuff in, turned it to on, and walked away for a couple minutes. Then I repeated this step until i felt the rice was ground enough down.

I then transferred the grind into a mason jar, added in a cup of raw blanched slivered almonds and topped it with 2 cups water.

I shook up the mix and placed it in my refrigerator to soak for 24 hours. During the 24 hours, every time i opened the fridge, I would shake the jar up. Shake it like a Polaroid picture!

The next day, I poured the jar into my blender (I use a Ninja), added sugar and 2 more cups of water. Blend this on liquify for a few minutes, or until it is smooth, not chunky.

I placed my nut milk bag into another jar, and poured the mixture through the mesh. Squeeze the pulp and discard, unfortunately I haven't figured out a use for the leftover pulp, so I feel a bit guilty to waste it, but what can I do? (Seriously, if you have any ideas, let me know in the comments!)

Now, you have got horchata, which is creamy and yummy all on it's own. Drink away if you so please. I am going to take it one step further and make it into RUMCHATA! Rumchata is a kind of liquor made of horchata, rum and real heavy cream. It's delicious. And luckily for you and I, easy to make.

Take the horchata, throw it in a saucepan, add a can of full fat coconut cream, and 1 cup rum, and stir. Simmer over low heat until combined or ready to serve. Ladle into mugs and sprinkle some more cinnamon on the top. Save any leftover rumchata in a mason jar in the fridge for a few weeks. The mixture will separate, but will come back together with a little shake. It is delicious warm, and cold over ice, and the next time I make it I am going to make a milkshake with it by blending with ice!

Enjoy, and let us know if you make one of our recipes this holiday season!